SIOUX LOOKOUT, Ont. — A river otter named Dwight has found a way to get a free lunch – just pay a visit to the portable ice-fishing hut of Sioux Lookout resident Steven Dumonski.
The otter, estimated to be two years old, first showed up at his spot on Minnitaki Lake a couple of weeks ago.
He entered the hut, grabbed a walleye catch lying beneath Dumonski's legs, and dashed away with it.
Since then, it's become a frequent visitor, to the point that Dumonski has given him a nickname, and posted video to Facebook.
It turns out that Dwight has a particular fondness for minnows.
Dumonski is happy to indulge the otter, as he has plenty of baitfish that he catches for his own use.
But he said he does have a limit.
"You have to cut him off, or he'll eat them all. He's been eating a couple dozen at a sitting."
Dumonski has learned to stash away any fish that he's caught, or Dwight will carry them off.
He said the otter has demonstrated that he doesn't necessarily trust everybody.
"He always comes and sniffs my pantleg right away, then goes to the ice holes and sniffs around them and gets a drink....one day he was in my hut, a friend of mine came over and bent down to see him, and he put his head up and growled at him. I don't know if he's just comfortable with me."
Dwight is comfortable enough that he's even taken a nap in the fishing hut.
"I have an old pillow on the bottom of the sleigh. He came in and ate a lake herring that I was using for bait, curled up on the pillow and cleaned himself a little bit, then closed his eyes for awhile."
Dumonski said he expects Dwight will soon be fishing on his own, as people are starting to remove their huts from that part of the lake.
Earlier this winter, a Thunder Bay resident captured video of otters sliding on Boulevard Lake.
